Blue Jackets 5, Flames 1

March 22, 2013|Reuters

The Sports Xchange

Blue Jackets 5, Flames 1

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In the span of 75 seconds, the Blue Jackets turned a tight game with Calgary into one of their most lopsided wins of the season. And Columbus' improbable point streak continues to grow.

Nick Foligno scored two goals 1 seconds apart, and Artem Anisimov added one only 24 seconds after Foligno's flurry, giving the Blue Jackets a flash-quick cushion on the way to a 5-1 win in Nationwide Arena.

It was the fastest three goals in franchise history, beating the previous mark (1:46) set on Oct. 7, 2000, the first game in franchise history.

Fourth-liners Jared Boll and Colton Gillies also scored for the Blue Jackets, whose 12-game point streak (8-0-4) is a franchise record.

The Flames, meanwhile, have dropped nine straight games (0-8-1) on the road since a Feb. 17 win in Dallas.

The only Calgary goal was scored by Curtis Glencross, his 13th of the season. Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff had 23 saves for the Flames.

The game looked like just the latest nail-biter for the Blue Jackets, whose point streak includes 10 games decide by one goal.

The Blue Jackets went up 1-0 at 16:56 of the first period when Boll scored on a slapshot from the slot.

The Flames made it 1-1 early in the second, when Glencross circled around the net in front of Blue Jackets defenseman Nikita Nikitin and easily deposited a feed from Matt Stajan.

The game then took a sloppy turn for much of the second period. The Flames didn't capitalize; the Blue Jackets did, in a flurry.

At 13:05 of the second, Foligno found space coming through the left circle and shoveled the puck into a crowd in front of Kiprusoff, the puck finding a way over his right pad.

On the very next shift, Foligno let loose a shot from the slot that Kiprusoff never saw, thanks to a screen by Calgary defenseman Dennis Wideman.

Before the crowd was seated, Anisimov jumped on a turnover by Flames forward Lee Stempniak and rifled a slapshot into the net.

Gillies, who scored his first point of the season with an assist on Boll's goal, added his first goal in 34 games with 6:46 to play, capping the scoring.

NOTES: Glencross is a former Blue Jacket, having played for Columbus in 2006-07 and 07-08 before he was traded to Edmonton for defenseman Dick Tarnstrom. Glencross signed with Calgary as a free agent the following season. ... Blue Jackets defenseman James Wisniewski told The Columbus Dispatch that he'll travel with the club on its upcoming four-game road trip that begins Saturday in Nashville. Wisniewski's been out since Feb. 24 with a broken foot, but hopes to play on the trip.